260 INSECT MISCELLANIES. 



did them no injury ; but in other cases, he has ob- 

 served them chased into a corner behind the combs, 

 where he imagines they must die of hunger. He 

 consequently objects to Reaumur's expressions of 

 ' massacre, ' ' frightful carnage, ' and ' horrible 

 slaughter,' as not borne out by facts. * The re- 

 searches of Huber, however, proved that Reaumur 

 was right. In his letter to Bonnet he remarks, that 

 though it was probable they might die of hunger, 

 the carnage might notwithstanding take place in the 

 bottom of the hive, and might have escaped observa- 

 tion, because the observer could not see what took 

 place there. 



' In order,' he adds, ' to ascertain this point, a glass 

 table wa-5 constructed, on which were put six hives 

 with swarms of the same year ; and placing ourselves 

 below, to see what passed in the scene of action, we 

 endeavoured to discover how the drones were de- 

 stroyed. This contrivance was completely success- 

 ful. On the 4th of July we saw the workers 

 actually massacre the males, in the whole six swarms, 

 at the same hour, and with the same pecu- 

 liarities. The glass table was covered with bees 

 full of animation, rushing upon the males as they 

 came from the bottom of the hive : they seized them 

 by the antennae, the limbs, and the wings, and after 

 having dragged them about to the place they deemed 

 most fit for execution, they killed them by repeated 

 stings, directed between the rings of the belly. The 

 moment when they felt the weapon was the last of 

 their existence, they stretched their wings and ex- 

 pired. At the same time, as if the workers did not 

 consider their victims quite dead, they pushed their 

 stings still deeper, so that they could not easily 

 withdraw them without turning themselves round for 

 the purpose. 



* Contempl. de la Nature, CEuvres, x, 118, note. 



